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In the first molt the females usually shed their legs and sometimes 
their antenne, so that a female nymph or adult appears as a mere sack, 
attached to the plant by the proboscis. The female, in those species 
having a distinct scale, remains under this covering throughout life, 
while the male, after a succession of molts, comes forth with legs and 
wings well developed. 
In view of the great difference in appearance between the male and 
the female, it is necessary to consider their respective characteristics 
separately for purposes of classification, it being impossible to identify 
two given specimens of different sex as belonging to the same species 
unless they are found in close association or are bred from a given lot. 
In view of the relative scarcity of males in most genera of Coccide, the 
characters found in the female form the chief basis upon which their 
determination is made. 
In the Philippines, so far as is known, seven species of Coccide are 
found upon the coconut. Of these, Aspidiotus destructor Sign. is by far 
the most abundant and destructive; next in abundance is Chrysomph- 
alus propsimus Banks, a species which has usually been encountered in 
great numbers on all trees examined both in Manila and in the provinces. 
The order of abundance of the remaining species is that of the following 
notes: 
THE TRANSPARENT SCALE. 
Aspidiotus destructor Sign. 
This extremely prolific scale is found on the coconut palm in all 
localities in the Archipelago where investigations have been conducted. 
It is extremely injurious to the trees, causing their leaves to assume a 
characteristic yellow color, which is easily noted from a distance. Where 
it is encountered, the under surfaces of the leaflets are covered with 
thousands of small, rough, circular patches, which are almost transparent 
and so thin that the insect and her eggs can be seen beneath. When the 
leaflet is pulled longitudinally or when it wilts, the scales become striated 
owing to the tension on the edges which are attached to the leaflet. 
Plate VI, fig. 1, shows adults and young scales upon a leaflet. It will be 
noted that the latter have fixed themselves to the longitudinal veins and 
therefore are arranged in very regular rows. Fig. 1A shows young 
insects which have emerged from beneath the scale of the parent; female 
scales from which the occupants have been eaten by a tiny predaceous 
beetle of the family Coccinellide, are also present. Fig. 2 shows a 
coconut leaflet attacked by a form of disease which causes spots, very 
similar to those resulting from the attacks of Aspidiotus destructor Sign., 
to appear on the upper surface. In case of doubt as to the origin of the 
spots, certainty is reached by examining the underside of the leaflet, 
where, if it is attacked by scale insects, the latter will be found just at 
the point of discoloration of the leaflet. 
